How Do I Spend My Time?

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I've been thinking about how I spend my time and energy. It's amazing how little things can distract. I have been thinking a lot about how badly doing too many things at one time or being easily distracted can keep me from getting things done.

On Saturday I found myself trying to print out documents, create small photo cards, write a letter, talk on Facebook and clean house all at the same time - and I had the TV on. Ridiculous. I would sit down and forget what I was doing, then get distracted on something else, then remember I was doing something else and go back to that for a few minutes. As distracted as I felt, it didn't really hit me until later that I could have enjoyed that time so much more and been much more effective - which would've given me time to do all those things I want to do and never make time for.

Some things that would've helped me:

1) Turn off the TV. I started thinking about how often I have the TV on as noise. Did the junk I had on really mean more to me than having peace, being focused and getting things done quickly - no way! In fact I realized it was just a lot of noise and was really distracting me.

2) Put on some music. Some days I need energetic music on loud, other days I need very peaceful music on very quietly. But either way, it can help set the tone for what I want to accomplish and help me focus my inspiring my energy.

3) Make a To Do list. I can definitely get more done when I am very clear about what I am trying to accomplish. A list also helps me prioritize how I spend my time because I see my priorities and try to work from most important list items to least.

4) Do one thing at a time. Oh, I've been so bad at this lately. Drifting from one project to another and not completing anything in a reasonable amount of time. I have a lot of half-done projects around me and I don't like it. Tomorrow I start project "Finish the Project" around here and with a list, some good music and some additional effort to be focused, I get some things done, put away, organized and rearranged.

5) Define my work time. Rather than just fumbling through an entire day, I want to plan out how I use my time: work, rest, reward time, workout time, etc. Then I have compartments of time that I know I need to focus on certain things. For instance: from 10 AM to noon I will work on online projects, then lunch & a brief break, then from 1 PM to 4 PM I will work on organizational projects, etc. Just an example but knowing when I need to focus, when I can rest and when I can reward myself for a good day's efforts help me balance my energies and have discipline at times when I most need it.

How about you? Have you caught yourself in a ridiculous, ineffective spin cycle? Do you have any tips and tricks you could share with me on how you buckle down and get things done? I'd love to hear them. Have a great day and thanks so much for coming by.